Louise de La Vallière – mistress of Louis XIV

Louise de La Vallière – mistress of Louis XIV

Louise de La Vallière was a French noblewoman, and the first mistress of Louis XIV of France.

Mademoiselle de La Vallière was born on 6th August 1644, in Tours – France.

Louise was the daughter of military officer Laurent de La Baume Le Blanc, Lord of La Vallière, and his wife Françoise.

At the time of her birth, her father was the governor of the Castle of Amboise, where she spent her first years.

During these years, she was educated in reading, grammar, musical composition and public speaking.
This was done by her aunts, Élisabeth and Charlotte, who were Ursuline Nuns.

Through the influence of a distant relative, Louise became maid~of~honour to Henrietta, wife of Philippe~Duke of Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV.

When Henrietta joined the court at Fontainebleau, Louise went with her.
It was here that Louise first met her future lover, Louis XIV the King of France.

A close relationship soon formed between the king and Louise.
In order to counter any rumours, they allegedly decided that Louis should court other women as a front.

According to one version of the events, Louise knew nothing of her part in a ploy to avert a scandal.
She believed that the kings feelings for her were sincere.

It was Louise’s innocence and sincerity that captured the heart of the king, he fell instantly in love with her.

Although she was never described as a striking beauty or naturally brilliant, Louise had qualities that attracted attention.

She was afflicted with a limp as one of her legs was shorter than the other, but she wore custom-made shoes and managed to be an accomplished and graceful dancer.

At the age of 17, she reportedly had an exquisite complexion, soft blue eyes, and a sweet smile.

The relationship with the king, was Louise’s first romance.
As an innocent and religious girl, she did not behave flirtatiously.

She was not extravagant, nor was she interested in the wealth or the titles she could receive from her dalliance with the king.

During her first pregnancy in 1663, Louise was removed from court and sent to live in the Palais~Royal.

On 19th December 1663, she gave birth to the kings son, Charles.
He was taken away from Louise immediately, and entrusted to the care of two faithful servants.

Despite the attempts to make the birth as secret as possible, the story quickly spread through Paris.

Louise would eventually have five children with the king, but only two would survive infancy.

In 1665, the king had two affairs, beside the one with Louise.
After the death of his mother in 1666, Louis XIV started to publicly display his affairs, which greatly displeased Louise.

Around this time, the Marquise de Montespan returned to the service of the Duchess of Orléans, which she left because of her marriage in 1663.

Now a lady~in~waiting, the Marquise quickly established herself as the reigning beauty of the court.

Enamoured, the king sought to take her as his new mistress…..
Louise was on her way out as the king’s favourite.

In May 1667, the king legitimised Louise’s only living child, Marie-Anne.

On 2nd October 1667, Louise gave birth to her fifth and last child, a son again called Louis.

By 1669, Louise’s relationship with the king had ended, and Madame de Montespan was now firmly in place as the favourite.

King Louis had Louise’s last son legitimised, and created him Count of Vermandois, and gave him the title, Admiral of France.

As he was only 2 years old, the king retained his authority over the Navy.

Around the same time, Madame de Montespan gave birth to her first child by the king, a daughter.

Louise served as the newborn daughter’s godmother, who was named Louise-Françoise, after her.

The strain of being forced to live with her former lover and his current mistress took its toll on Louise.
She lost weight and became increasingly pale and exhausted.

After a near fatal illness, she turned to religion.
With her love for the king still strong, she remained at court for two more years.

In 1674, Louise entered the Carmelite convent in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques.
The day she left the court she threw herself at the feet of Queen Maria Theresia, begging forgiveness for being the kings mistress.

Louise said ~
“My crimes were public, my repentance must be public, too.”

One year later, on 3rd June 1675, Louise took her vows, and accepted the veil from Queen Maria Theresia herself, who kissed and blessed her.

Queen Maria Theresia and other members of the court, had a habit of visiting Louise at the convent for spiritual consolation.

Later in life, Madame de Montespan herself also went to her for advice on a pious life.
Louise counselled her on the mysteries of divine grace.

Louise de La Vallière, died on 6th June 1710, at the age of 65.
She had spent 36 years as a nun.

She was buried in the cemetery of her convent.
Her titles and possessions were inherited by her only surviving child, Marie-Anne.